In the late summer of 2002, Tyler Aiello and Monica Petty Aiello burst onto the Denver art scene as full-blown players. They pulled off this difficult feat by opening Studio Aiello in the nether reaches of what is now the River North Arts District, north of downtown. Studio Aiello was…
A month or so ago, I received a call from John Davenport, a noted local photographer and a boardmember of the Colorado Photographic Arts Center. He was annoyed because although CPAC had organized one show and co-organized another among the exhibits that had received Best of Denver awards in March,…
Altar Girls. Two very different exhibits roughly collide into one another in the middle of the Museo de las Américas. One part, put together by Museo curator Kristi Martens, is an extravaganza of santos made mostly in Colorado, Mexico and New Mexico, and primarily culled from a recent gift to…
Army of Shadows: The Criterion Collection (Criterion) Arthur & the Invisibles (Genius) Bill/Bill on His Own (Brentwood) Bunny Whipped (Think) Caddyshack: 20th Anniversary (Warner Bros.) Chasing Liberty (Warner Bros.) Curse of the Zodiac (Lionsgate) The Dead Girl (First Look) Denzel Washington: Spotlight Collection (Universal) ER: The Complete Seventh Season (Warner…
If you’re looking for a laugh, find a kid raised on Grand Theft Auto and introduce him to Pac-Man for the first time. As he stares at you blankly, explain the addictive joy of eating dots and the simplistic genius of the neon-blue maze. When he sneers, “That’s it? It’s…
Pan’s Labyrinth (New Line) Guillermo Del Toro has made a career of mixing slam-bang special effects (Hellboy, Blade II) with creepy atmospheres (Cronos, The Devil’s Backbone). But with Pan’s Labyrinth, he’s used his entire palette for what will likely be remembered as his masterpiece. Mixing Franco’s Spain with fairy tales,…
You don’t have to be a rabid feminist to acknowledge the simple truth that the expectations placed upon women in almost any society are difficult to meet. “I know a lot of female artists,” notes Kim Harrell, owner of East End Applied Arts, 1556 Florence Street in Aurora. “And I…
Ever since Comedy Works came into being in 1981, it has served not only as a bastion for professional comedians, but also as a sort of after-school program for budding artists. “A big part of our business is growing local comedians,” says marketing manager Justin Levy. To that end, the…
Sometimes, when my girlfriend and I are feeling silly and carefree, we go for rides around town on my 49cc scooter and scream in unison the lyrics to Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian” — only we yell “scootering!” instead of “motoring!” I’m telling you this because, as a scooter owner/lover, you…
The last time Dylan Scholinski wore a dress, he was locked in a mental hospital and his name was Daphne. Daphne was institutionalized at fifteen, diagnosed as an “inappropriate female.” In the three years she spent at various Midwestern mental hospitals, Scholinski endured abuse and forced “femininity training.” Her parents’…
Just look at that face — the sad eyes, the droopy lips, the furry cheeks. Your dog is trying to tell you something. No, he’s not hungry. No, she doesn’t need to go outside. It’s the loneliness, you ninny; if you can’t last six months without some kind of significant…
Depending on what part of the world you’re from, Tropicália — a multi-disciplinary Brazilian counterculture movement of the ’60s — might have spawned the greatest pop music of the twentieth century or not even have left a blip on your cultural radar. But in more recent years, familiar artists such…
Who do Beth Medanich and Wesley Wayne think they are? Where do they get off aggressively disseminating information about — and voraciously recruiting people to — Denver’s hippest weekly ’70s and ’80s dance party? Seriously stepping up the MySpace spam to promote themselves as Off the Wall’s newest DJs would…
You’ve been to the chi-chi weekend fleas, and they’re a blast. But face it: In terms of looking true, salt-of-the-earth flea-market culture squarely in the eye, you’re only getting your toes wet. At the Old North Denver Flea Market — hosted monthly from May through October by alterNative Voices and…
Local poetry mover and shaker Day Acoli named her weekly open-mike series Black Star Dog for two reasons: in memory of her late dog; and as a reference to Sirius, the Dog Star — the brightest star in the galaxy — and its dense, dark cousin, Sirius B. “I thought…
At Bras for a Cause, the featured lingerie pieces aren’t boring old underthings. They’ve been transformed into art. “Some of the bras are really beautiful, but most are absolutely outrageous,” says Lucinda Wayland Connelly, president of Soroptimist International of Denver, which is hosting the event to benefit Gilda’s Club Denver,…
“Brian Vogt had a dream,” says Denver Botanic Gardens spokesman Will Jones. “He was thinking about how our gardens are so unique because of the way they’re situated right in the middle of the city. There’s all this greenery at the center of so much concrete and steel.” So Gardens…
I hate running. Be it around a track, along a nature trail or on a sidewalk, morning, afternoon or evening, in shorts lengthy, mid-cut or revealing — it doesn’t matter. I hate running. It hurts my knees almost as badly as it hurts my soul. The only kind of running…
Bad Art for Bad People presents a national art exhibit of works by Mark Mothersbaugh, Jeff Gaither, Pooch, Stephen Blickenstaff and others, including very affordable pieces, during a weekend run with parties and live music. June 8-10…
Wednesday, May 16 JSG Designer Showhouse The only thing Cat likes as much as clothes porn is real estate porn, and right now there’s some serious flesh on display over at 2900 Inca Street. For the 32nd year, the Junior Symphony Guild has teamed up with some of the best…
CU-Denver student Sophie T. made Flypaper, the Bluefly.com blog, today. Apparently she was spotted at the Auraria Campus Spring Fling, and the editors there liked her personal style. Glad that Denver’s hotties are getting some props, but Cat could have done without this bit of snark (though it’s not as…
Everyone, welcome Cat’s special visitor for the day. She has hair issues. No, seriously, real ones. Help a girl out… Any person darker than a peach crayon can tell you that its hard trying to find a place in Colorado to get your hair done. Finding a salon that specializes…
